Can you guess what the SECRET WORD is this week kids?
This week the Review Crew is cooking up a pair of dishes that aim to have a big impact on your spirit. One reconfigures a space into a deconstructed film gallery, and the other asks the audience to settle in for a realtime look at a character on the brink of a breakdown.
Both play with time and space in very different ways, but that's the heart of the art when it comes to all things immersive.
Let's go...
(And if you think you know the Secret Word head over to the NoPro Discord and find the thread by the Watercooler.)
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Ritual (London)
Witness Immersive
Free; CoLab Tower; Feb 21 & 22, 2026
Somewhere in the lived experience of attending many shows, there is a line drawn between durational theatre and performance art. Striving towards connections with the conceptual work of Abramović and the scenic design of the Big P, Ritual straddles the line without exactly landing either side of it.
As the original launch of the show in 2019 NYC evidently pre-dates The Burnt City (2022), it would be unfair to insist on a direct cadging of the vibes, though it’s the unspoken elephant in the room in 2026 London. Scattered touchable props and set pieces across two Mycenae-reminiscent rooms with a performer wandering between for 12 hours with occasional guest actors passing through, Ritual is an exercise in patience for its audience. However, because the audience is welcome to arrive and depart at any time there’s no guarantee “action” will occur during your visit apart from the gentle observation of a man going slowly mad with the burden of prophecy. As there was no schedule of key events I visited for 45 minutes in the evening, half of which was spent waiting for a 20-minute countdown timer to hit zero, at which point a guest actor appeared to perform a short dance/fight sequence and then promptly curled up in the corner to sleep.
Ritual feels more like performance art than theatre. The audience isn’t acknowledged, simply allowed to wander freely and investigate the contents of the rooms or observe while the actor performs his private actions. Much of the time I spent there, while meditative in the low lighting and no talking/phones allowed, felt like there wasn’t enough content to fill the time — like we were watching an actor waiting for a cue. With nowhere to sit except limited floorspace and the expectation to witness for an extended period of time, I admit I reached my limit and departed when the hour was coming to a close.
I suspect this piece holds more meaning for the creators than their audience; proof of ability and commitment to deliver a long-form piece rather than clarity of message or impact upon viewers. While its technical ability is clear, Ritual’s affect could do with more repetitions to improve.
— Shelley Snyder, London & UK Curator
What A Wonderful World: An Audio Visual Poem (Los Angeles)
The Julia Stoschek Foundation
Free; The Variety Arts Theatre, Downtown LA; Feb. 6 - Mar. 20
One of the most fun seasons in Los Angeles revolves around the annual Frieze Art Show at the end of February. Turning Los Angeles into the center of the Art World for an expanding period of time each year brings so much to us, and when gallerists utilize found spaces, they create hybrid experiences that eschew sterile art galleries for funky enveloping experiences. The Berlin based Julia Stoschek Foundation has brought together all of these elements with their engrossing exhibition What A Wonderful World: An Audio Visual Poem.
A retrospective of more than a century of cinema and video art (or as the curators call it, Time Based Art), this sprawling exhibit showcases pieces that formed the lingua Franca of cinema alongside more modern pieces in the rarely used Variety Arts Theatre downtown. The pieces by themselves are not immersive per se, but by placing all of these works together, and within found spaces surrounding the Variety Arts auditorium elevates this experience into something that our immersive community should gravitate towards.
Encompassing the entire building, the exhibition begins on the fifth floor, with some classic early cinematic excepts playing in dressing rooms and offices. Watching a Georges Melies in an unfinished room overlooking Figueroa Street is an early treat, but just a hint of what’s to come. As one works their way down through the building, the works become more compelling, while rewarding exploration of spaces. Behind the screen where a Doug Aitken piece plays on the third floor, there’s a small path leading to a screening room for one of the strongest pieces of the entire exhibition. Discoveries like these are best made on one’s own, but do trust that if you venture over to the Variety Arts Theatre, take some time and explore every nook and cranny in the space… Especially the remarkably creepy basement, where some of the strongest work and spaces exist.
– Martin Gimenez, Reviewer At Large
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